Genre: blog tasks

 Read Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorizing texts and answer the following questions:


1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

The example provided to show why visual iconographies are so important is in the differences between star trek and star wars in the sci-fi genre  as a whole .Star Trek tends to use a more futuristic setting which relates to an idealized (utopian) world of the future. The Star Wars universe is far less ideal and is portrayed in some parts as more ‘rough and ready’, however, they both share enough characteristics to be considered within the same genre.



2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

Some genres have particular types of story lines. For example, in a soap opera it would not be unusual to see one of the story-lines follow a family having to deal with a domestic situation.



3) What are the different ways films can be categorized according to Bordwell? 


Period or Country, e.g. US films of the 1930s
•  Director / Star, e.g. Ben Stiller Films
• Technical Process, e.g. Animation
• Style, e.g. German Expressionism;
• Series, e.g. Bond;
• Audience

4) List three ways genre is used by audiences. a) They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text. This helps when selecting a media text whether it is a lifestyle magazine, a film or a television program .They are able to compare a text through its shared characteristics with another. If you try to describe a TV program  to someone who has not seen it, you are likely to define its genre and then clarify what other text it is similar to.

 They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a text. For many of us there will be genres we actively dislike and therefore will avoid accessing texts we assume to hold those characteristics.


5) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

Production

Attracting an Audience

Marketing Texts



Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:


1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

Avengers Assemble (2013),The Dark Knight Rises (2012) ,X Men (2000), Spiderman 3, (2007)The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).



2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?

 Superhero comics first became popular in the 1930s. The mass media saw how popular superheroes were with audiences and superheroes appeared in animated and live action serials at the cinema as early as the 1940s. The first superhero was superman   which was created by DC and was followed  with other DC characters such as shazam, Flash and batman  this lead to  Marvel starting there own  in the 1940-1960s being Captain America, Thor, The fantastic 4 and Spiderman.


3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?


Innovation: The visual codes for the superhero genre were largely established via the comic books.

Classical: By the 1950s the superhero genre could be seen to be in its classical stage with the codes and conventions being  replicated in the film and TV programmes of the time.

Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and camp and wouldn’t let its audience take the superhero too seriously.

Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’.

The Cycle Continues: After 1997’s Batman and Robin received a less than positive reception, the genre again needed to deconstruct and re-innovate. The next stage of the genre’s development was the rise of Marvel Studios with The X Men (2000) and Spider-Man in 2002



Task 2: Genre analysis case study


Carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:



General

1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

It had an extremely valuable message,

2) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

Crime drama 

3) What is your experience of this genre?

I really enjoy this genre as they  depict brutal honesty on how living that lifestyle can end.

4) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with? 

poverty, crime, violence murder, business, politics  and identity 

5) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content? 

This a typical genre as there are many shows about this genre e.g Snowfall, top boy, BMF 

6) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre? 

I expect that text  in this genre focus on the fatal flaw of the main character and  lots of betrayals and deaths.

7) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where - try imdb.com if unsure)?

The font and  bold writing for the title. 





8) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text? The characters have to  some how   pay the supplier within a short amount of time and have to  to escape getting  arrested by the police  also  getting there court case dismissed. 

9) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre? It  focuses  on family members  being heavily involved  with crime from the 90s. 

10) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre? It focuses  on the business aspect of the show as the main character wants to go legit and leave his criminal life behind. 

11) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))? The family arguments and story line - soap opera 

12) What familiar motifs or images are used? Drugs, dead bodies and violence. 


Mode of address

1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

I feel like the genre was aimed at Teenagers and young adults to tell the harsh reality the criminal lifestyle. 

2) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

I assume this was aimed at  the working  class teenage black  boys as a lot of these themes are based on these demographics. 


3) What interests does it assume you have? It assume that I'm interested in crime derma that focus on  telling  an intense  story based on multiple aspects of life. 


Relationship to other texts

1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.

I would say its based loosely of the story of Big Meech.

2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

BMF and Snowfall and Godfather of Harlem 

3) What key features are shared by these texts? Crime drama and focus on  morality and freedom.

4) What major differences do you notice between them? BMF and Godfather of Harlem  are based on true events whereas snowfall and Power  aren't 

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